Brake mechanism



' May 2, 1933.

J. P. BEGL EY ET A BRAKE MECHANISM James P Beglay InUe JE-rs- PatentedMay 2, 1933 warren STATES JAMES P. BEGLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ANDEDWIN E. ARND'I', OF HESSVILLE,

INDIANA, ASSIGNQR-S T0 AIKERICAN STEEL FOUNDRIES, OE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,A

CORPORATION 6F NEW JERSEY BRAKE MECHANISM Application filed September 9,1929. Serial No. 391,156.-

This invention pertains to track brake apparatus for cooperation withcar wheels for retarding the same, and more particularly to particularbrake shoe construction adapted to be associated with rails for carretard- %Vith the old style of brake shoe generally now in use, eitherof the double beam or single beam type, the face of the shoe which isadapted for cooperation with the vehicle wheel is disposed substantiallyat the top of the supporting beam therefor, i. e., it is of the L-shapedtype, the supporting beam being adapted to be actuated by apparatusthrough coiled springs or the like.

In a rolling wheel, the point of contact on the rail is momentarilystationary while the diametically'opposite point on the circumference ismoving with a velocity twice as great as the wheel center or of the caritself, therefore, the most efiective point to apply the retarder shoefor braking action would be at the top of the wheel. However, suchlocation is impossible due to the character of the car or truck sideframe construction, making it necessary to apply the shoe closelyadjacent to the wheel level, the only possible variation in the heightof the shoe being over a relatively small distance upwardly from thebottom edge of the wheel rim. A certain increase in braking power mightbe realized by raising the retarder shoe, provided the springmechanismwould transmit its force properly at this higher position. However, inthe usual spring applied brake shoe mechanism, the centers of thesprings are about on the same level as the top of the rail, and thecenter of shoe pressure therefore must be in substantial alignment withthe centers in order to have a proper braking action. The points ofapplication or retarding surfaces of the usual brake shoes now inoperation are considerably higher than the centers, being atsubstantially the height of the supporting beam wherebythe center ofpressure is practically on the edge of the spring, having the effect totilt" the 1 shoe, thereby decreasing the area of contactand alsothrowing bending stresses on the various elements which maintain theretarder springs in position.

With the usual L-shaped brake shoe the pressure is applied eccentricallyon the beam, and on account of the distance above the tread at which theshoes grip the wheel there is a tendency of the rolling wheel to tip thebeam longitudinally of the shoe which of course is undesirable. There isalso a tendency to diminish the efiective power or stiffness of thespring, that is, to decrease the force with which thespring pressestheretarder shoe against the wheel, causing a marked loss of brakingpower, this loss amounting to substantially of the applied power. Thebrake shoe cannot be raised to too great a distance for the reason thatin raising the shoe the contact area is first increased slightly andthen decreased as the shoe is raised more and more. 'Raising the brakeshoe causes increase of the moment on the retarder shoe wherebyadditional stresses are put on the various elements which hold theretarder shoe in position. The position of the springs cannot be raisedto accommodate this raise in the shoes, for the reason that the springcenters must be kept at approximately the same vertical position for carclearance, and it is therefore evident that the retarder shoe must be applied as close to the bottom of the Wheel flange as possible in ordertoobtain proper loading of the springs. Considerable trouble has alsobeen experienced in braking light cars with the old type of shoe,especially when the pressure applied is too great as the wheels climbthe brake shoes and ride on the same,-resulting in the derailment of thecars, with the consequent damage to equipment and serious delay inputting that section of the track out of commission.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide track brake shoeswhich will be equally efiective in retarding operation on any type oftrack vehicles.

Another object is to provide a brake shoe wherein the retarding area islocated to provide guard means for the Wheel of track veiicles.

Still another object is to provide a cast steel brake shoe which will beof long life, of efiective operation and will fulfill all requirementsof manufacture and service.

A further object is to provide track brake mechanism wherein it ispossible to utilize substantially the entire applied force as brakingforce.

till further object is to provide track brake mechanism wherein asubstantial eficctive braking area is provided, and one in which thetendency of tipping of the brake shoes is substantially diminished.

ith these and various other objects in view the invention may consist ofcertain novel features of construction and operation, as will be morefully described and particularly pointed out in'the specification,drawing and claims appended hereto.

In the drawing, which illustrate an embodiment of the device and whereinlike reference characters are used to designate like parts- Figure 1 isa fragmentary sectional elevation through a vehicle wheel and trackrail, showing the cooperation therewith of the improved form of brakeshoe;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal elevation of one of the end inside brakeshoes, the same being taken substantially in the plane as indicated bythe line 22 of Figure 1;:

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the brake shoe illustrated in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal elevation of one of the end outside brakeshoes, the same being taken substantially in the plane as indicated bythe line 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the brake shoe illustrated in Figure 4;and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of a portion of the track rail,showing the application of the improved outside brake shoe to a vehiclewheel.

In the improved brake shoe arragement, it will be understood that theactuating mechanism is of any preferred type, such as of theannauer-lVilcoX type, wherein inside and outside brake beams 10 and 12are actuated by suitable mechanism through coiled springs 14 and 16disposed between inwardly directed flanges 18 and 20 provided on thebrake beams-said brake beams being provided with flanges 22 and 24adapted for supporting relation with the brake shoes 26 and 28. Thebrake beams may be of the solid or jointed type, if of the solid typethe brake shoes where made in one piece have approach portions(described later) at both ends but where of the jointed type or wherethe shoes are made in sections, only the end shoes have an end approachportion. The brake shoes are provided with projecting portions 30 and 32providing effective wheel engaging surfaces 34 and 36 for contact withthe inner and outer faces 38 and 40 of the vehicle wheel 42 as it rollsalong the rail 44 when the brakes are set. 'The brake shoes 26 and 28are preferably cast whereby it is possible to provide apertures 46 forthe reception of a T-sha-ped holding bolt for fastening said shoes totheir respective brake beams. The apertures are formed with a parallelsided aperture 48 for the reception of a T-headed bolt, said aperturehaving an inner enlarged portion 50 located substantially at rightangles to the entrance, forming stops 52 and 54 whereby after the headof the bolt is inserted, it may be rotated through an angle of 90 forlocking the bolt in operative position in the brake shoe. The shoes maythen be supported in proper position on the brake beams through saidbolts, proper apertures being provided in said beams for the receptionof said bolts.

The inside brake shoe is of substantially T-shape section, as viewed inFigure 1, it being provided with a sloping portion 56 extending from theend thereof and merging into the wheel engaging braking surface 34, thesloping portion being for the entrance of the wheel into the-track brakemechanism in case the mechanism is not in full released position. Itwill be seen that the wheel engaging portion 34 of the inside brake shoeis fairly deep and engages a substantial portion of the inside of thewheel, and that the center of the braking surface is closely adjacent tothe center of the spring 14. The outside brake shoe is also providedwith a sloping portion 58 merging intothe wheel engaging braking surfaceor area 36, the depth of the braking surface being substantially equalto the depth of contacting portion 40 of the wheel 42 and being locatedat the height of this portion of the wheel. Due to the configuration ofthe car wheels, this braking surface 36 is substantially raised withrespect to the braking surface 34 of the inside brake shoe, though itwill be seen that this surface is closely adjacent to the center line ofthe spring 16 and considerably closer than the usual brake shoearrangement. By reference to Figure 6, it will be .seen that the brakeshoes are arranged so that a considerable area of the brake shoe isoperated to apply the brake shoe to the wheel through the springs 14 and16 whereby effective braking action is provided. The shoes are sodisposed so that both initially and after wear of either the shoes orwheels, the shoes are not below the wheel rim whereby dangerous ridgeswould be made in the shoes causing derailing and the like. The shoes arealso so formed that they provide a guard rail portion 60 and 62 toprevent any tendency of derailing from any cause, and to protect theassociated mechanism in case of derailing.

It is to be understood that we do not wish to be limited by the exactembodiment of the device shown, which is merely by way of illustrationand not limitation, as various and other forms of the device will ofcourse be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

WVe claim:

1. In a retarder shoe arrangement, the combination of a pair of brakerails disposed adjacent a track rail, means for moving said brake railstoward said track rail, said means including resilient members, brakeshoes carried by said brake rails and having wheel engaging brakingportions for contacting a vehicle wheel on said track rail, said shoeshaving an upwardly extending guard rail portion thereon, said brakingportions being located below said guard rail portion.

2. A retarder shoe including a cast elongated metallic member having abraking portion extending outwardly from the body portion of said memberand so disposed as to provide a brake shoe having a substantiallyT-shaped section, said braking portion merging into the top of said bodyportion through an upwardly extending guard rail portion.

3. A retarder shoe including a cast elongated metallic member having abraking portion extending outwardly from the body portion of said memberand so disposed as to provide a brake shoe having a substantiallyT-shaped section,said braking portion merging into the top of said bodyportion through an upwardly extending guard rail portion, the centerline of said braking portion substantially coinciding with the centerline of said shoe.

4. A retarder shoe including an elongated metallic member having abraking portion extending outwardly from the body portion of said memberand so disposed as to provide a brake shoe having a. substantiallyT-shaped section, said braking portion merging into the top of said bodyportion through an upwardly extending guard rail portion.

5. A retarder shoe including an elongated metallic member having abraking portion extending outwardly from the body portion of said memberand so disposed as to provide a brake shoe having a substantiallyT-shaped section, said braking portion merging into the top of said bodyportion through an upwardly extending guard rail portion, the centerline of said braking portion substantially coinciding with the centerline of said shoe.

6. A retarder shoe including a cast elongated metallic member having abraking portion extending outwardly from the body portion of said memberand so disposed as to provide a brake shoe having a substantiallyT-shaped section, said braking portion merging into the top of said bodyportion through an upwardly extending guard rail portion, the centerline of said brakin portion substantially coinciding with the centerline of said shoe, the body portion of said shoe having slotted portionstherein for the reception of heads of T-headed securing means, saidslotted portions being formed With an angularly extending head receivingportion whereby the head of said means may be inserted and partiallymoved to lock said means to said body portion.

7. In a retarder shoe arrangement, the combination of a track rail,brake rails disposed adjacent said track rail, means including aresilient member for moving each of said brake rails toward said trackrail, a brake shoe carried by each of said brake rails, said brake shoebeing substantially T-shaped in section and having its braking surfacedisposed adjacent the top of said track rail, said shoes having anupwardly extending guard rail portion thereon, said braking surfacesbeing located below said guard rail portion.

Signed at Chicago, of September, 1929.

JAMES P. BEGLEY. EDWIN E. ARNDT.

Illinois, this 3rd day

